To See Him Cry
by Akira Minato
Summary: Major Jack!whump. Turn back if that isn't your cup of *insert your preferred Earth beverage here*. Cheers! Now a crossover for future character appearances.
1. Rescue

A.N.

Summarry: What frightened the Doctor most were not the physical injuries that Jack was describing in hushed tones to Martha and Gwen. What frightened him most was the fact that as he spoke, tears were welling up in his eyes. Jack Harkness had never had it easy. But the Jack that the Doctor knew looked death in the face, gave it his business card and walked away; he had other things to attend to. He had never once imagined that he would ever see Captain Jack Harkness cry. And that scared him more than anything.

Yep. That's what this is all about. My twisted compadre X my heart . hope 2 die is helping me out by Beta-ing this. If you like what you see here, go check her out, too!

* * *

Another shot ran through Jack's body and he groaned in pain, slipping closer and closer to death's grasp. He could feel the darkness edging in on him, and he desperately wished for anything to make it faster. Even if it only lasted a few seconds, it was still a chance for relief. It was still a moment to forget where he was. To forget how long he'd been there. To forget that his friends hadn't found him. That they'd probably stopped looking.

Every fibre in him hurt. For the most part, his healing powers were focused on injuries that could, would, or had killed him. Because of this restriction, most of the bones his captor had broken remained as such, his over-stretched muscles continued to burn, and various other cuts and bruises gave him greif to no forseeable end.

"Jack, Jack, Jack..." His tormentor purred. "I've tried whipping. Electrocution. Deprivation. Water torture. Breaking bones. And yet even at gunpoint you won't tell me where he is."

"I- told you..." Jack forced his tounge to cooperate with him, despite the fact that it seemed like all it wanted to do was adhere itself to the top of his bone-dry mouth.

He knew that the inadequate answer he was about to give would result in less punishment than no answer at all.

"It's...impossible-" He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, frustrated that it took this much work to form the simple sentence. "to know... I. Don't. Know..."

His captor sighed, and shook his head.

"Oh, Jack. You know I hate it when you do that." He said, sounding like a dissappointed mother. "Can't you get it through your head that you make me do this when you refuse to answer my questions?"

And with that, he brought the butt of the gun in a powerful arc down on Jack's head, pushing him that last distance into death.

-0l0l0-

Gwen gasped when she heard the gunshot.

"Doctor?" She looked to him, worry in her eyes.

The Doctor grimaced as he tried to find the proper setting to open the lock on the door. He couldn't imagine that he had very much time. If the gunshot had been aimed at Jack who knew what other torments he'd been through in the month and a half that he'd been gone.

A sickening crack came from the other side of the door; Gwen pushed the Doctor out of the way and rammed her foot into the door above the lock, breaking it open.

"That's how you open a locked door, Doctor." She said, entering the room with her gun ready.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and followed her into the room.

"Oh, it is, is it?" He muttered under his breath, "How kind of you to pass on that invaluable tidbit of-" He stopped short, eyes widening when he caught a glimpse of Jack behind the tall, blond figure that obscured him.

He was thin. Too thin. He'd clearly been starved, and was very likely dehydrated, too. His skin was riddled with cuts and bruises, and many of his bones were clearly broken. It sickened him to even think it, but the Doctor was slightly grateful that Jack was as malnourished as he was. It meant that as long as the bones had been broken recently, there would be very little chance that they'd need to be re-broken. He wouldn't have had the resources to start healing wrong.

All this registered in the Doctor's mind in a split second before Jack's captor whirled around at the sudden disturbance, earning a hot led bullet through each leg for the trouble he'd caused.

The Doctor and Martha ran over to Jack, who appeared to be dead. The Doctor couldn't help himself wondering how many times he'd died just to wake up again in this hell hole.

Martha undid the clasps on his wrists and ankles, revealing skin that had been scraped raw. Despite how thin he was, she still almost crumpled under his deadweight.

"Doctor... Little help... would be nice!" She grunted, struggling to stay upright.

The Doctor took Jack and began to carry him toward the door, motioning to Gwen to stop beating the living daylights out of Jack's captor and leave.

Gwen jerked the blond man up by his arm, and, keeping a firm grip on him, assisted him in getting out of the hellish pit in which he'd kept her friend. After all, he could no longer walk.

As they were getting into the van Jack woke with a gasp and cringed, nearly making the Doctor drop him.

"Woah, there! Easy!" The Doctor exclaimed, setting Jack on one of the van's seats and helping him sit up.

"Wha...?" Jack looked around, confused. "Where...?"

"Jack!" Gwen came running around the back of the van. "You're okay!"

"Gwen?! What's going on?"

"We sprung you. We're taking you home."

Jack went weak for a few seconds, seeming to melt with releif. He was going home. They'd found him. He was going home.

His eyelids suddenly felt leaden, and he realized how long it had been since he'd slept. Properly, mind you, not just the momentary respite of death.

"Get some rest, Cap." Gwen said, her face softening. "We'll get you home safe, and Martha will do any fixing up she needs to."

Almost as soon as he was laid out in the van, Jack was fast asleep.

* * *

I will do my best to make updates regular. Reviews are not required, but they are greatly appreaciated, especially if they AREN'T flames! Oh, and I don't own Dr. Who. No matter how slim and a little bit foxy the Doctor is, and no matter how much I've been looking and like it.


	2. No Needles

Chaptah TWO! I got a 'Molto Bene' from my consultant, so here it is! The next chapter will be a little lighter, but Gwen will find out about another of the *ahem* _many _deaths that Jack went through. So...*waves hands in the direction of the story* here you go!

* * *

When Jack came around, he was on the bed in the med bay. He didn't have any motivation to look around; he knew what the med bay looked like. Instead, he just stared at the ceiling, listening to the familiar hum of machinery.

He heard footsteps outside in the hall. Three sets.

"Listen, I'm going home." That was Gwen, "I trust you to handle this, especially now that he's here. Call me if you need to restrain him."

Another female voice laughed outside the door.

"Okay. I'll remember that." It was Martha.

As the blurred memories of his escape came back to him, he recalled that Martha had been there. And so had the Doctor. The Doctor, who never even so much as stopped by for coffee, had rescued him. Where the hell had that come from?

"Come on, Ianto, if he's awake, I'm going to need your help."

"Yes, ma'am." Ianto replied.

Ever-respectful Ianto, Jack mused, almost smiling.

"Oh, good. Looks like you'll be of some use." Martha said, seeing Jack was finally awake. "Sleeping Beauty has finally come around."

"And 'hello' to you, too." Jack replied. "That was an awfully unprofessional greeting, Martha Jones. I thought you were a doctor."

"I am." Martha said, suddenly professional. "I'm sorry, that was a bit rude, wasn't it?"

Jack watched Martha bustle around, putting a tray together. He saw bandages, and antiseptic wipes, and gauze, and - this made him laugh a little - band-aids.

"Band-aids? Really?" He asked, flippantly.

"Not all your injuries are so big that I need to use gauze." Martha replied, raising an eyebrow.

Jack went back to looking over the tray. He didn't see any needles. Good. That was good.

"Right, the first order of business, I've got to set these bones back in place before they start to heal incorrectly." Martha said, "It's gonna hurt, so I'll give you a mild sedative, and-"

Martha cut herself off when she saw Jack's terrified face.

"What?" She looked confused and worried. "What's wrong?"

"Uh..." Jack shook his head, trying to clear it. "N-nothing, just... No needles. Please."

Something in Jack's tone made Martha comply. The tremor when he'd said nothing was wrong and the way he'd said 'please' as though he, Jack Harkness, was begging. She put the syringe back on the tray.

"Okay, we can work around that. Ianto, go get a belt, please." She said quietly before sitting on the edge of the bed and putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. He flinched at the touch.

"Jack... What happened?"

Jack closed his eyes, the memory weighing on his chest like a ton of bricks.

Jack could see the needle out of the corner of his eye, long and dripping with whatever drug he was going to be injected with next. The last one had burned like fire in his veins. The one before that was a hallucinogen, showing him all his worst fears. He'd seen all of his crew die. He'd seen the Doctor **die**. Somthing he knew was impossible. But it frightened him nonetheless because he knew that if the Doctor got cut out of the picture, the earth was doomed. And the one before that? He couldn't remember. It had been going on so long. The new drug started coursing through him like ice, giving him a prickling feeling in his fingers and toes. He was going numb. Everything around him was rocking and spinning, making him sick.

"Goodnight, Jack. See you in a few hours." His captor's voice purred.

His vision started going fuzzy, and his whole body was either numb or freezing cold.

That was the fourteenth time Jack died.

Only when Jack looked up and saw Martha's eyes welling with tears did he realize that he'd recounted the experience out loud.

"Oh, my God..." She gasped, hand drawn to her mouth in horror from what she'd just heard.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ianto's voice came from the doorway as he reappeared.

"Oh! Ah..." Martha wiped her eyes quickly and took a steadying breath. "Nothing. It's fine, just... Come here with that belt."

Ianto moved obediently to Martha's side, and handed her the belt.

"Now, Jack, I want you to bite down on this. I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt. You'll know when I've finished." Martha said, putting the belt between his teeth.

Ianto couldn't help himself. He reached forward and gripped Jack's hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"It's going to be alright, sir." He said, quietly.

Jack nodded his appreciation to Ianto, and both of them looked towards Martha.

"Alright. I'm going to start with your legs. I'll be as quick as I can." she said, "On three. One. Two. Three!"

Jack's scream was so loud that Ianto almost let go of his hand to cover his ears but within seconds the Captain was clutching him too tightly.

The pain was intense, ripping screams from Jack's throat before he had a chance to stop them - as if he would've - and hot tears spilled from his eyes.

Martha worked her way around Jack's form, pushing, pulling, and slipping bones back into their correct place. Soon she was finished and Jack went limp on the bed, sweating and panting from the exertion.

Ianto took the belt gently from Jack's mouth - the section he'd been biting dark with saliva - and handed it back to Martha. She took it, avoiding the wet bit, and traded it for a glass of water, which Ianto helped Jack drink.

"Alright. Now that's finished, I'll just clean up a few of these cuts, and we'll call it a night, yeah?" Martha said gently.

Jack nodded. He was already tired again, and just wanted to go to sleep and forget everything that had happened to him. But he knew he'd never forget. He could remember almost every one of his deaths like it was yesterday. He'd just learned not to think about it. But in this case...he didn't have a choice.

As she worked her way around Jack's form in the opposite direction, a few of the more serious lacerations and scrapes caught Martha's eye. There were several deep cuts on both his arms, and the raw skin where the clasps had held him was clearly infected. She checked his forehead - warm, but not feverishly so - and applied a sticky blue paste to stop the infection spreading.

She had barely finished when Jack's eyes started to drift shut again.

She patted his shoulder gently, a smile darting across her face.

"Get some rest, Jack. You earned it." She said, but looking down at his peaceful form, she had to wonder if he'd even heard her.

* * *

Arright! D'you like that? You should say so! Click the button! Cliiiicckk iiiiiittttt...you know you wanna! I know you know you wanna! OwO


	3. Chinese Delivery

Chapter Three is finally here! I've been super busy, which is why this took so long, but I'm not dead! I swear!

* * *

Gwen wasn't really listening to Rhys talking over dinner. She nodded and smiled, trying to focus and be polite, but her thoughts were caught up on Jack. How thin he'd been. All those cuts and bruises...

The vibrating phone in her pocket was what finally brought her hurtling back to Earth. She jumped and scrabbled to reach it, opening it with shaky hands. "Hello?" Her voice was tight.

"Gwen? What's up, you sound like you've seen a -" Owen stopped himself when he remembered that both of them had seen ghosts, "...zombie."

"Owen! What is it? Is Jack alright?" Rhys looked at her, concerned. She shook her head, and gave him the 'don't worry, it's work' look.

"Woah, woah, woah, cut the engine sweetheart." Owen's voice crackled with poorly concealed laughter.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." Gwen growled, "Why are you calling?"

"I need someone to talk to."

"I'm a bit busy at the moment..."

"Come on newbie! I'm stuck here on Jack-watch for the graveyard shift, and it's hardly entertaining to fling words at someone who's comatose..."

"He's in a coma?!"

"No!" Owen said hurriedly, "No, he's just asleep, but it's not looking like he's going to wake up anytime soon, and I'm bored! Come in and have a chat with a teammate, will you?"

Gwen sighed heavily and looked to her boyfriend in apology. "It's work. They've called me in."

"Alright, babe. Be safe."

"Aren't I always?" Gwen kissed him and rose from the table, putting the phone back to her ear, "I'm on my way, you insufferable prick."

"Oh, good. Pick up Chinese on your way, will you? I'm here all night."

Gwen rolled her eyes, and snapped the phone shut.

"Joy." She muttered under her breath, "Late night."

-0l0l0-

"Owen? You still here?" Gwen called, emerging from the invisible lift with her arms piled high with Owen's Chinese delivery.

''Yeah, I'm here!" Owen called from somewhere deeper inside the Hub.

"Great. D'you think you could come give me a hand with this before I drop it all?"

"Why, how much do you have?!" Owen emerged from some hidden hallway behind Gwen, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Owen!" She gasped, "Don't do that!"

"Don't do what? You asked me to come and help you with the takeout, didn't you?" Owen replied flippantly.

"Oh, shut your gob, you know what I mean." Gwen snapped, shoving a bag into his arms. "Lead the way, Magellan."

"Magellan?"

"You're the only one that knows the way around this whole place. So take the lead."

Owen shrugged and led her back to where he'd been sitting, put down the takeout, and began to push things around on the desk to make room for everything.

Gwen set the other bag down and absently made her way to the med bay door, peering inside to see how Jack was doing.

He was asleep again. He looked peaceful, she thought. That was good. But he was still remarkably thin. How long had they been starving him?

She let out a shaky sigh and approached the motionless form. She reached down and gently tousled his hair. She smiled down at his sleeping face, taking in every detail. He had a strong jawline, a pleasing complexion and eyelashes that were almost ridiculously long for a man. And he smelled nice, she realized. A mixture of scents that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but mixed together, they were simply...Jack.

She didn't love him by any stretch. No, he was far too confusing for that... But she couldn't help caring for him. As the only normal human being in this place, she also seemed to be the only one besides Ianto who was capable of remembering to care for herself, so as time went on she'd simply...inherited some of the work of reminding the others to do the same.

As her hand came to rest near Jack's cheek, his eyes flicked open. He didn't seem to see her as he reflexively moved away from her hand. He looked scared. No... He looked more than scared. He looked utterly petrified."Jack?!" Gwen put her hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention, bring him back to Earth, "Jack, what's wrong?!"

Owen came running in from the outside room. "What's going on...?"

The male voice seemed to shake Jack even more. "N-no... stay off... stay off..." He muttered.

Gwen signaled for Owen to get out, but he'd already taken the hint.

"Jack..." Gwen maneuvered herself into his line of sight, "Jack, it's me. Gwen. Remember? You're in the Med-Bay at the Hub. You're safe."

It took a moment for Gwen's words to register with Jack, but as they did, he seemed to relax, slightly.

"Jack, what happened?" She asked, "What was that all about?"

"N-nothing." Jack looked away, "It's nothing..."

Gwen frowned, but didn't pursue the topic.

"Are you going to be alright, or do you want me and Owen to come in here with you?" She asked, instead.

Jack considered for a moment.

"Some company would be nice..." He said, finally.

Gwen nodded, and called Owen into the room, beginning to set up a small table near the bed.

Owen came with the food, faking being annoyed at having to move it all over again, but internally he was glad that there was now a place to set up where they didn't have to avoid papers and documents and bits of machinery scattered everywhere. "Hey, sleepin' beauty." He greeted Jack, "How d'you feel?"

"Better." Jack said, truthfully, though the smell coming of the takeout made his stomach twist with desire.

"Good." Gwen said, "It was awful...seeing you like that... And I can't imagine what it must've been like."

Jack shuddered at the memories still coursing through his head. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't really even want to think about it, but in that, he had no choice.

Owen, paying little attention to the interaction in a way that could almost be callous if it weren't so overwhelmingly Owen, began to serve out plates for himself and Gwen. Jack eyed the food with a look that could only be described as longing, though that was hardly a word that came in conjunction with the Captain under normal circumstances.

Gwen had ducked out for a moment to get something out of her bag, or something of the sort (Neither Owen nor Jack had really paid attention when she'd said) and Owen was alone with Jack when he caught the look. An evil grin played across his face, but it was not entirely without heart.

"Oh, that's right." He said over-dramatically, "You weren't getting any food, were you? Oh, wow, you must be starvin' then, eh?"

Jack ran a hand over his face, with a deep sigh. He'd been with Owen long enough to know where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Hmmm, this does smell good, doesn't it?" Owen taunted, waving one of the boxes, "I can't imagine going without stuff like this..."

At that moment, Gwen returned to the med-bay. Her eyes widened, then narrowed when she realized what was going on. "Owen!" She covered the room in a few angry strides, and gave Owen a good smack upside his head, "What's wrong with you?! Sometimes I'm frightened to think what goes on in that twisted little mind of yours..."

She snatched the box from him and got out another plate, serving out small portions of everything for Jack. "If you want more, just say so." She said, "I'm not sure how different your physiology is to...normal people's when it comes to how much you're able to eat after something like that."

Jack nodded, and all of them tucked in to their food. As they ate, they talked about simple things. Little distractions.

"So...how's Rhys?" Owen asked, awkwardly, "Is he holding up alright with the odd hours and such?"

"Funny. I didn't think you cared." Gwen said, picking at her own food, "He's fine. A bit frustrated, but he knows I'm doing what I can to spend time with him, and he knows how I feel about the men around here."

Owen raised an eyebrow.

"She means he's not worried about Gwen being too fond of us." Jack ventured with a wry smile.

"So he speaks!" Owen said.

"How _could _I be too fond of you?" Gwen scoffed at the same time, "_You're _an insuffrable prick, and _you_," she turned her gaze to Jack, "are a living enigma."

"Why thank you." Jack seemed to be regaining his confidence as they chatted, amiably.

"I'm hurt." Owen said, putting a hand to his chest.

Jack and Gwen couldn't help but laugh.

Soon enough Jack got to storytelling, and the other two were alternating between bending over with laughing and gripping the edge of their seats, eyes wide.

Everything seemed to be going well. Jack was safe and eating again, and everyone was happy listening to his stories. But in another part of the Hub, trouble brewed…

* * *

R&R pretty please!


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